How I meet Gaara of the Sand
by DiVine DionnE
Summary: Sometimes you just have to trust fate that she'll lead you back to the path that you once took. GaaraxOC Trilogy :B
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Would you guys believe me when I say that I have NEVER watched Naruto…properly? And all their personality and such are based on the fanfiction that I read and it might appear so OOC that it'll make you go 'WHY THE HELL IS SHE WRITING NARUTO FANFIC WHEN SHE HASN'T EVEN SEEN THE SHOW…PROPERLY?' **

**So I'll apologize now and beg for your forgiveness but this plot bunny was just too darn persistent and Gaara was the only suitable candidate at that time. **

**Also please remember that at one point of his life Gaara still had some sense of emotion in him…you know? Before the betrayal of his uncle and such**

**Enjoy and review~ this isn't the last though cuz' this **_**is**_** a trilogy after all ",**

**[1] How I met Gaara of the Sand**

****She runs down the stairs. Her blonde hair slowly swaying in the wind and her blue eyes sparkling like water shimmering under the moonlight, she always loved running around in fact her favorite game is tag and she never gets tired of it.

She looks around, heavily panting, when she sees a figure sleeping on the couch. Snoring like an elephant. She walks slowly towards the figure trying her best not to wake the sleeping figure as she smiles tiredly, noticing that it was her Onii-san.

It almost seemed that it was everyday that her Onii-san was out on a mission but she didn't mind it though. She loved her brother to death and if being a ninja is making him happy. Then let it be. She tenderly kisses him on the forehead and places a blanket on his body as she smiles. Knowing, that he wouldn't be waking up until night time then at night time he'd complain, and sometimes boast, about how 'difficult' his mission was. Then goes back to finish his 'difficult' mission.

She runs her hands in her hair and quickly puts it up in a ponytail as she walks towards the fridge and quickly grabs a chocolate bar and runs out of the door. Other than her love for running she loved eating chocolate. You could say it was her cup of coffee in the morning. Although it was hard to get chocolate in the middle of the desert…and trust me it was _hard_. Her brother, being the ninja that he is, would always bring souvenirs for her. One of which is chocolate. Mizuki was never considered as a kid, not by her brother at least, after both of their parents died on a mission. Her brother cried on their grave, but her? She stood their trying to hold back her tears whilst hiding the sadness behind her smile.

Comforting her crying brother, sadden by the fact that a teenage rebel like him would be brought to tears, while she the one who was always happy and emotional was not even fazed by the sight of the names of her parent engraved on the stone. Someone had to be strong. She _had_ to be strong. For the both of them

She runs around the village. Kicking sand around not aware that everyone looked at her irritably. She looks at all them and sticks her tongue out like the little kid that she is. Gaining grunts and snorts but she ignores it and runs towards the park pushing through crowds that had gathered to watch the Kazekage making his usual rounds of visiting the citizens. Although he was somewhat the king of Suna she never really liked him. Considering the fact that he ignores his own child, treating him like everybody else…a monster.

But she never saw him as such, Gaara that is. All she could see was a kid who had no friends. Defined only by the name people gave him but she didn't approach him too since his brother warned her about him but she still didn't believe that a kid like him could ever be considered a monster even though she knows the result of her actions when she did not heed her brothers warning. She was still compelled to go near him once the kids ran away when he handed the fallen ball to them. He drops it and starts walking away but her legs, having a mind on their own, runs up to him and she stares.

Her blue eyes so striking it was unbelievable that a Suna citizen could have such eyes. Considering that normally they'd be gray or black. She cocks her to the side as she continues to stare. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail only making a few strands of her hair fall in front of her face. She continues to stare making the young red head in front of her uncomfortable. She smelt faint of…chocolate? 'That was very strange.' The red head thought but what bothered him the most was her courage. No one has ever been this close to him. No one even dared to be this close.

"Ne, are you Gaara?" She speaks. Her voice was monotonous. No fear. No anger. The boy lowers his head as if to hide the fact that he was indeed Gaara but knowing that if he did. It would cause trouble for both of them. He hesitantly nods. Waiting for a scream, panic, or any of the sorts but none came. He raises his head to look at the girl in front of him. Still staring as though his name was merely nothing

"I don't see it." She crosses her hands in front of her chest. Forming a confident posture intimidating the young boy a bit, no one has ever dared to walk up to him let alone talk to him. This was truly a surprise.

"They say you're a monster…"He looks down, losing all hope once she admitted it. He knew it. She thought of him as a monster. Just like everybody else. He lowers his head, ready to attack the girl with his sand out of pure anger but before he could attack the girl opened her mouth to say, "But I just don't see it…" He looks up again a smile plastered on the girls face. "A monster is supposed to look like this…" She reaches up towards her face pulling on the side of the cheeks as she sticks her tongue. Making the funniest face she could come up, well to her, because she started laughing but the boy didn't. But something did compel him to laugh along with her. But he doesn't.

She stops laughing and smiles at the young boy. "You look nothing like that! Unless you do what I did back then of course!" She puts out her hand. The smile still plastered on her angelic face. "My name is Mizuki Darkrai." He doesn't respond still letting the events sink in. A girl…a real human girl was in front of him and she wasn't afraid of him. The girl noticing that he was still awe struck grabs his hand and places his hand on hers and shakes it formally. "Well Gaara. I hope we'll be great friends!" She drops his hand and walks towards the ball and picks it up and dusting the sand off of it.

"Well I really don't know how to play," She pauses and turns to him and places the ball in his hand. The young boy's eyes focused on the girl, not the ball. "Maybe you can show me?" She smiles lightheartedly. Something deep inside the young boy's stomach jumped in excitement. Someone was not scared of him and someone wanted to be friends with him.

"Gaara-kun!" She runs towards him. Her hair not in its usual ponytail but only a small flower clip on the side to keep her bangs from covering her eyes. He had to admit she was definitely what adults would say as 'cute'. She smiles at him even though she was out of breath from running around town. Her favorite sport "Gomen Gaara-kun…" She exhales heavily as she stops her panting "But Onii-san is going out on a mission today and I had to cook his breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one morning. I hope you're not mad." He shakes his head. No matter what the blonde girl did. It never made him mad. Even if she was to be late for ten hours he would've waited patiently. Being in her presence was more than enough.

Her smile would light up his whole world. Her laugh would send him in a daze. And for a moment he feels just like everybody else. Like he _is_ human "So what do you want to play today, Gaara-kun?" She says, snapping him out of his thoughts as she skips lightly almost as if she's dancing. The wind gently playing with her hair as the air fills with the scent of, as he guessed, chocolate. "How about tag?" He says monotonously, she looks back at him as she pouted her lips and she places her hands on her hips.

"Never am I going to play tag, hide and seek, and sand castle making with _you_ again. I always lose!" His eyes widen by her sudden outburst. But quickly softens when a smile comes back to her face. "It's really depressing when I lose. You always _catch me_ when we play tag. You always _find me_ when we play hide and seek. And you always build a bigger castle than me and it makes mine look like a poor excuse of a sand castle." She bites her inner cheek showing her displeasure in spite the smile on her face.

"I think your sand castle is beautiful." She looks at him. The displeasure disappears on her face as she runs towards him and hugs him tightly. Not wanting to let go but had to since she was basically suffocating him. "Arigato, Gaara-kun but I really want to win. So why don't we play a game. That _I'll_ win. You know a game that's definitely _my _element." She grins and stares at Gaara for a reaction of displeasure but found none. She grabs his hand and runs towards the nearest tree and points at the tree. "So what's the game?" He says monotonously but she still could hear the excitement in his voice.

"It's simple. All we have to do is climb the tree. The first one to reach the first branch, wins." She smiles as she continues. "Since it doesn't involve running, hiding, and making stuff using sand…I'll definitely win!" She shouts in joy as she holds up her fist in the air. He looks at her worriedly but she just shrugs it off.

"Don't worry. I'm a climbing machine. I'll go first to check if it's sturdy." Before he could retort back. She was already climbing up the tree as the young boy stares at her worriedly. Looking observantly as she almost fall from taking a misstep but she continues to climb as she smiles happily after she's perched on the branch. She waves back to the young boy to stop him from worrying. "See? It's not as bad as you thought I'm fine and there are some awesome views you can see up here."

She grins from ear to ear. Something was tugging on the young boys lips but quickly disappears when she stands up and walks towards the edge of the branch. "Mizuki!" He shouts worriedly but she continues smile. Then, like time stopped, she took a misstep but she doesn't regain her balance as she falls. Gaara's heart panicked, feeling like he was going to lose something important. Someone very precious, he raises his hand as sand started to gather below the tree. As the sand engulfs her, catching her frail body as she lands with an 'Umfp'. He runs towards her. His heart so heavy he felt like it would fall out of his chest. But the sight of her laughing was a relief as it lights up his world again. "Mizuki, are you all right?" He asks panic was still evident in his voice.

"I guess I was right..." She stands up straight as she brushes off the sand on her clothes. "You're always going to catch me when I'm in trouble! So you better catch me. K?" She smiles. Never knowing that her smile. Lights up his whole world, making him feel like, like he was loved

Little did he know that this would be his last time to see her or her comforting smile


	2. Chapter 2

**[2] Mizuki and Gaara**

_He was running. Even though his little legs couldn't run as fast as Mizuki, he tried. He desperately wanted to see her. He needed to be with her. He got worried when she didn't come yesterday nor did she come today. He missed her. He wondered if she left him even though she promised that she would never leave him. No, she could never. Could she? Maybe she got tired of him. Did she finally realize that he was a monster like everybody said? _

_He shakes his head as he pounds on the door creating so much ruckus that the neighbors looked out of the window to see what was happening but quickly closed them up when they saw that it was Gaara. But he didn't care all he wanted to do was see her. To see if she was mad at him for always winning the games that they used to play but mostly because he was scared, scared that his only friend, no his best friend, would hate him…_

_The door slowly opens on its own, creaking so much it felt wrong. Then he heard sobs, short low sobs. He knew who that voice belonged to. He runs up the stairs forcing the door open and there she was huddled on the corner with her hands wrapped around her legs. Her face buried in between her legs. She was crying and sobbing really hard. She looked up. Her eyes looked tired, her cheeks red, and her tears just didn't seem to stop. "Mizuki," he runs to her, wrapping her in his arms as she continued to cry on his chest. He was pissed, pissed to the point that he wanted to kill whoever did this to her. She was always there for him and now he couldn't help but return the favor. _

_She looks up at him, drying her tears with her overly long sleeve. "Gaara-kun…why…are you…here?" She sniffs, trying to put on a smile but fails. _

"_That's not important…__**Who did this to you**__?" He emphasis each word as though trying to hold back his anger. "No…one… it's my—my Onii-san." She didn't need to finish the sentence for him to know what happened. His brother was on a new mission, his most dangerous yet, from what he heard from his father. _

"_I'm sorry," He mutters under his breath. She smiles forcefully and a ping just hit his heart. He hated seeing her like this; he hated it when she forced a smile on her face. "I have to…go to Konoha." She whispers but he could hear her perfectly. He was expecting this but he doesn't want her to leave. He holds her tighter as she continued to cry on his chest. "I can't live here…Onii-san's—I have to go to Oba-Chan and…and," She couldn't continue. But he stopped her right there when he hugs her tighter. He had no choice but to let her go. If she stayed in Suna she would've been placed in an orphanage. And God knows what those orphanages were like. "Gaara-kun…I'm so—sorry." She sniffed but he wouldn't have it. This was for her own good even if he had to let her go…_

_And that was it. The next day she was gone. And that was the day his world fell apart…Assassinations were sent after him. His uncle, his only true relative, betrayed him. And his best friend, the only person that ever treated him as a real human being…was taken from him…everything precious from him ripped away…everything he __**thought **__was precious…betrayed him. And that made him untrusting and uncaring. He made a shield to protect his heart…but by doing this, he closed everyone off from himself even Mizuki._

She nuzzles into her pillow. Letting the smell of chocolate drown her nose, she sighs when she hears her name being called but ignoring it and going back to sleep.

"Mizuki!" She rolls over and hugs her blanket. "Gaara-kun?" She smiles at the mention of his name roll off her tongue.

"Mizu-chan wake up!" She falls to the ground with a loud 'thump'. She looks up with tired eyes. Four red eyes looking back at her. "Oh it's you guys." She says disappointingly as she stands up and messes up her hair. "Gee…glad to see you too. Mizu-nii," Both of them say in unison. Mizuki smiles reassuringly and hugs both of them but she let's both of them go. Once she noticed that they were both turning red.

"Sorry. I guess I was hoping you were someone else." She picks up her pillow and blanket on the floor and places it all on the bed. With a yawn she walks over to open her window letting the Konoha air fill her room then sits back on her bed.

"Yeah, you mean…Gooro-kun…right?" She smiles evilly like she did it on purpose. Yes, Suzu really loved to play pranks on Mizuki knowing that she would be very displeased unlike her twin sister, Momo, who was much kinder to Mizuki. Although Mizuki never agreed to have her nieces live with her. She had no choice. Both of their parents died on a mission and since their Oba-Chan died not a long time ago. They had no other living relatives to take them. They had no other choice but to stay with Mizuki.

"-kun. How hard is that you remember?" She says with a scowl on her face.

"Come on you guys. Don't fight it's too early." Momo protest as she plops down on the bed beside Mizuki as her twin sister Suzu follows. "Mizu-chan who's Gaara-kun anyway? You never tell us who _he_ is?" Momo grabs the pillow and places it on her lap.

"Or if his actually a _he,_" Suzu mutters under her breath as Mizuki hits her head…hard.

"Okay one, Gaara _is a guy_ and secondly, I _will_ not tell you because I know you'll blackmail me for life…and yes, I'm talking to you Suzu." She scowls at Mizuki. She just ignores her reaction. Then Mizuki goes over to the mirror and places her hair in pigtails. As she smiles at her work.

"And besides…" The twins look at Mizuki with confusion as she turns around her finger pressed against her lips. "It's a secret I'll be taking to my grave." They both sigh in annoyance as she just smiles happily

She looks up at the sky from her roof. She always loved looking up at the sky other than chocolate and running. Although her nieces were ninjas she was definitely not. She hated fighting and just being a ninja in general because it brought too many painful memories of her mother, father, brother, and Gaara.

Although Gaara was not a ninja he certainly had the power to become one. She regretted the day she left Suna. She even sometimes blames herself. She thought about her last words to Gaara and those were 'I'm sorry'. She wishes she said what she really wanted to him. The words that have been harboring in her heart for as long as she could remember. Those three little words 'I…I—'

"Mizuki," She hears her name behind her, almost as if a whisper. She knows who it is. She turns around; excitement filled her eyes and her heartbeat quickens. It was no mistaken it. It was him. It was…

"Gaara-kun!" She runs up towards him throwing her arms but was quickly blocked by a wall of sand only allowing his eyes to be seen. "Gaara-kun…what's wrong?" She asks pityingly. She could see that something was wrong. Yes, he changed. He really was different. Although he had still had the same red hair and the same sea foam green eyes. She could tell that he made a shield a really big shield. And it scared her. She knew that he closed his heart off to everybody…everybody but her. And now she felt like she…was like everybody else

Gaara's eyes were glued to hers. More than anything he could see that she was hurt. After years of being apart the first thing he does is push her away. She changed. Her blue eyes have become bluer more refined and her hair has grown long but her child like face was still there. She was not what adults call 'cute' anymore she was what adults call 'beautiful'. She asks him what's wrong and his heart fell apart. The 'beast' inside him laughing indiscriminately teasing about his stupid feelings for a human but he didn't care. Seeing his one and only best friend look at him with disbelief was like a stake through his heart. Then she does something, something he was never expecting. Not even from her. She smiled…yes, she smiled. For years he has longed to see her smile ever since he saw her curled up at the corner of the floor. Mourning her brother's death.

"It's good to see you again, Gaara…or should I say it's good to see your eyes." She smiles light heartedly. Like she used to when they were kids…Gaara, unknowingly, let's the wall of sand come down. Unbeknownst to him as to why he did it. "That's new." She points at the 'love' placed on his forehead but he shrugs it off and doesn't respond but she continues to smile. "Are you here for the Chunin Exams?" He stays quiet. Worried, she approaches him and places her hand on his cheek. Gaara freezes but doesn't do anything.

"Gaara-kun…please talk to me." She pleads but seeing no response from him she lets her hand slide away from his face. Thinking, that it was her fault that this happened to him. "I'm sorry…Gaara-kun." She mutters under her breath forcing Gaara to look at her as she lowers her head. "I shouldn't have left Suna…I heard your father died…and…I'm sorry." She finishes her sentence. Confusing Gaara more than ever, why is she apologizing? For all he knows she's the one who dragged him out of his hell. The sand started pouring out of his gourd crawling behind her back as it pushes her forward towards Gaara. He grabs her hand holding on to her tightly but loose enough as not to hurt her but she knows Gaara more than anyone and she knows an apology when she sees one, well Gaara's apology at least, she smiles at him and places a kiss on his forehead. Gaara froze. His eyes so wide it could've literally popped out of its eye socket.

"I'm still not changing my mind about my apology Gaara-kun. Even though you're the one who's apologizing I'm still sorry. You might not know why but maybe someday I can tell you…" His eyes widen in surprise. What was she talking about? But she doesn't give him any time to respond as she continues, "But right now I'm cheering for you. So do your best in the Chunin Exams!" She slides her hand from his grip and walks towards the edge of the roof.

"I have to go. I need to make lunch for Suzu and Momo. Suzu would be pissed if I'm late." She waves a goodbye with a smile still plastered on her face. "I hope I'll see you again someday…maybe next time you'll talk to me…instead of just gestures." She grins as she jumps off the roof. He stares at her or rather the place she last stood. Sadden by the fact that he let her go…again. And even now he couldn't tell her how he truly felt.

Next time would be the different…

Everything seems to fall to place for both of them. But will everything go so smoothly once Gaara knows Mizuki's deep dark secret?


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: And thus, this trilogy ends. Read and Review~**

**[3] Finally**

It has been a long time since they both saw each other. But no matter what distance, time, or problems aroused that kept them apart. The feeling was still mutual.

They both were in love with each other. And now it's been twenty-something and the new Kazekage was Gaara. And the blonde girl was never prouder.

She always hoped for the day that people started to treat Gaara the way he should be treated. Like a normal human being. And today was the day she was going back to her home town. To Suna

It seems that Gaara must have heard, from someone, that she was coming back. Because the first thing she saw when she entered the gates were two big dudes with upset looks on their faces they definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed. "Are you Mizuki Darkrai?" The voice says so deep and so full of annoyance she refused to answer.

"I'm afraid to say yes." She mutters but the big dudes sigh in annoyance as they lead her to the building in the center. "Umm…can I ask where we are going?" She asks sweetly but only receives a grunt in annoyance as a respond. "Can I ask who sent you?" They keep quiet to the point of acting like she's invisible. "Can I actually ask a question?" Both of them look back at her with piercing glares she shudders in fear.

"Be quiet! And just follow us!" She nods fiercely like some kind of military cadet.

"Well, well what do we have here?" A stern feminine voice interrupts them. "T…Temari-san?" Both of them stutter as they bow respectively but the woman just shrugs it off and goes near, the half frightened half amazed, Mizuki.

"Are you Mizuki?" She asks tiredly. Mizuki quickly snaps out of her trance and respond with a nod. "Good…come on he's waiting for you." She walks casually. Pass the guards who still had their heads down. Mizuki follows casually acting as calm as possible knowing that she was anything but.

"Can I ask who wants to see me?" She stops walking and turns around and shots a warning look but quickly smiles after. "My brother."

Mizuki stops and stares at her. "Your Brother?" The woman nods and smiles. "I'm sorry but I don't think I know someone who has a sister…here." She just smiles and continues to walk.

"Well, I bet. He never talks about us." Mizuki looks at her suspiciously she stops for awhile to think but continues to follow her until they reach the entrance of the door. She waits patiently for the woman in front of her to open the door but as she reaches for the doorknob someone interrupts her calling out her name. He comes closer making Mizuki shift uncomfortably.

"So is this Mizuki?" He asks tiredly as the woman nods. "Woo…how did he nab such a hottie?" He says sheepishly as Mizuki looks behind her instinctively. She was never called beautiful nor was she called a hottie by anyone. So when someone actually does. She instinctively turns around to see if the 'hottie' they were talking about is behind her but she quickly snaps out of her trance as she looks at both of them.

"Wait who is this _he_ that you keep mentioning?" The man looks at the blonde woman in front of him annoyingly. "You didn't tell her?" She grunts in annoyance. "He told me to get her. Nothing else."

She says sternly. "Ouch. Sis that's harsh…but somewhat right." She grunts in annoyance and opens the door. She leads Mizuki to the hallway as she follows her ever reliable feet. As she meets with a door she knocks hesitantly then she hears a 'click' and she pushes the door open…

To see _him_, the red head, the Kazekage, the one she loves, and the only person that she considers as a best friend. "Gaara-kun…Err…should I say Kazekage-sama?" She smiles happily as she enters the door then closes it behind her. "So _you're_ the _he_ I've been hearing about?" She muses silently.

He looks up from his paperwork and stares at the blonde haired girl. Noticing that the girl he knew, the small blonde headed girl with soft blue eyes has changed. Her soft blonde hair darkened even more making it completely blonde and her soft blue eyes had become regal and deeper than before. They were as blue as the ocean. He sighs heavily letting out all the tension leave his body.

"Please sit down Mizuki." She obeys and walks towards the chair in front of his desk. "So what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today Kazekage-sama?" She smiles as she places her hand on her lap.

"Please, just call me Gaara." He corrects. She looks at him confusingly but smiles softly. "Then I'll call you Gaara-kun instead…so I go back to my original question."

"I want to talk to you." He says softly.

"Well, I'm listening." She smiles light heartedly. The same smile he always yearned to see. He places his brush down and stares at the blonde haired girl.

"Are you going to stay here…forever?" He says monotonously. But she could clearly see that he wanted her to stay.

"Of course." She shouts happily.

"Then what about…" He tilts his head trying to remember as best as he can. Making _her _heart skip a beat "I think the names were Momo and…Saza?" Her giggle fills the whole room making _his_ heart skip two beats. Ah, how irony works outstands her.

"Actually it's _Suzu_ and Momo…and they'll be fine, always were, they never really needed me in the first place they just needed to find a place to live…and besides both of them are Chunins already."

"I see…So—" He starts.

"Gomen…Gaara-kun." She cuts him off.

"For what?" She lowers her head and looks at the ground.

"For leaving…a long time ago…"

"Mizuki," He says pleadingly.

"Please…just let me finish," She takes a deep breath. "The reason why I left…wasn't because of the death of my brother well that was partly it…but the main reason is…is," She lowers her head even more. "I was scared."

Gaara froze. Who could have scared you so much that drove you away of Suna? Unless it was...him, she looks at him seeing the pained look on his face. She shakes her hand hurriedly.

"NO, No…it wasn't because of you. Honest! It was because…of your father." She looks down on the ground again. "When I found out that Onii-san died. I was scared that maybe he was going after me next for befriending you… and I know it was a selfish reason…but…but," Tears started to roll down her cheeks but before she could say anything else. Someone pulls her towards a hug.

It was so tight she started to cry on his chest. He starts stroking his back in a comforting way she stops and looks up. Sea foam eyes staring back at her with love and comfort.

"You don't have to say anything else. I understand." He whispers softly. "Even if you would've stayed. I still would've urged you to go to Konoha…in the end everything worked out the way I wanted it to."

He leans forward as he kisses her softly she kisses back. The tears still in her eyes.

"For years I have loved you…and finally, finally we can be together."


End file.
